Flu protection to be offered to 4m children

HUNDREDS of thousands of children across the UK will be offered flu vaccinations helping them stay well over the winter months.

Health bosses are allowing 380,000 children aged between two and seven to be innocculated against the flu bug for the first time making it the largest vaccination programme of it’s type in the country.

The extension of the programme to Year 3 school children means another 65,000 children can look forward to enjoying a healthy winter.

Across England, more than 4 million children will be offered protection against flu – around 600,000 more than last year.

It is expected to reduce the spread of this infection to the most vulnerable in the community, particularly younger children, the elderly and those with long-term conditions.

The Stay Well This Winter campaign will also be allowed to those people with long-term health conditions, pregnant women and those people over 65.

Building on the success of last year, children aged two, three and four can get the vaccination, in the form of a nasal spray, from their GP.

Parents of children in school Years 1, 2 and 3 are asked to give permission for their child to receive the free nasal spray vaccination at school.

Children are most likely to spread flu to others, so targeting them helps protect the wider community too.

It is estimated that several million people get flu each winter, leading to more than 2,000 NHS intensive care admissions across the UK last year.

Reducing transmission by children could cut the number of GP appointments and unplanned admissions for children and adults, reducing the pressure on the NHS.

The programme will be extend- ed gradually to older age groups in primary school in future years.

Chief Medical Officer, Professor Dame Sally Davies, said: “Flu can be much more dangerous for children than parents realise, and of course, when they get it, they tend to spread it around the whole family.

“Every year, thousands of children get sick and it is not uncommon for them to be admitted to hospital.

“The single best way to help protect your little ones, and the rest of the family, is to get them vaccinated. For most it is not even an injection, it’s just a quick, easy and painless nasal spray.”